Rent Board Regulation Changes Archive

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Regulation 510 - Defines when a rental unit that was constructed or converted after June 30, 1980, is subject to rent controls and registration under the Berkeley Rent Ordinance (Berkeley Municipal Code Sections 13.76.100 and 13.76.080). Adopted April 24, 2017.

Regulation 509 - Repealed as it became redundant and incomplete upon the passage of Regulation 510. Repealed April 24, 2017.

Regulation 1017 - Temporary Housing for Disaster Victims. Amended to permit landlords to offer housing to refugees and locally displaced tenants in addition to disaster victims, at below-market rents for a temporary period, without the landlord forfeiting the right to later raise the rent to a market rental rate after the expiration of the initial temporary term. Amended February 22, 2016.

Regulation 1018 - Added Section (D) to further clarify the way the Board has always interpreted this regulation (the relevant date to determine whether a tenant no longer permanently resides in a unit is the date of filing, and a landlord may not use evidence of past absences unless they are related to whether the tenant is currently residing at the unit). Amended November 2014.

Regulation 509 - This regulation makes clear that the Board will only consider a legal unit to qualify as new construction if it has received a Certificate of Occupancy issued after February 1, 1995. This standard is consistent with Costa Hawkins. Regulation 509 also makes clear that all units that were previously exempt before the passage of Costa Hawkins shall remain exempt. All units constructed as the result of rehabilitation, conversion, or partial demolition of existing units where a Certificate of Occupancy has not been issued shall not qualify as new construction. Adopted November 17, 2014.

Regulation 701 - The Board amended Section (C) and added Section (D) to Regulation 701 which includes a chart with the yearly rates of interest to be paid to tenants as required by Regulation 702. Amended April 22, 2014.

Regulation 702 - The Board adopted amendments to Regulation 702 due to a lack of data published by the Federal Reserve Board. Following the enactment of Measure P, the Rent Board amended Regulation 702 to implement the language of section 13.76.070 by requiring the Board to calculate the average of the six-month CD rates published in the Federal Reserve Board’s Statistical Release H.15 on the first business day of each month. The Federal Reserve Board issued a statement in December of 2013 that it would cease publication of the H.15 rate. The current amendment makes clear that the Board will now use the 12-month average of the average rates of interest (APY) paid on the first business day of each month for six-month certificates of deposits ($5,000 minimum deposit) by insured commercial banks doing business in the City of Berkeley unless and until the Federal Reserve Board publishes an H.15 or comparable rate. Amended April 22, 2014.

Regulation 1004 - Amended Regulation 1004 eliminating the requirement that a landlord allege compliance with the warranty of habitability in order to obtain a Certificate of Permissible Rent Level.Amended December 16, 2013.

Regulation 1269 - Amended to add Section (B) Paragraph 2 to codify long-standing and unchallenged Board policy to reject petitions filed by landlords who seek a rent reduction due to the unilateral removal of base level services or space without the express written consent of the tenant.This change will not affect the way the Board currently processes landlord petitions for decrease in space/services. Amended November 18, 2013.

Regulation 702 - Amended due to lack of data published by the Federal Reserve Board.Following the enactment of Measure P, the Rent Board amended Regulation 702 to implement the language of section 13.76.070 by requiring the Board to calculate the average of the six-month CD rates published in the Federal Reserve Board’s Statistical Release H.15 on the first business day of each month.The Federal Reserve Board’s Statistical Release H.15 contains daily interest rates for selected U.S. Treasury and private money market and capital market instruments, including rates for one-, three- and six-month CDs.The current amendment makes clear that the Board will use the most recent published 12-month average as the monthly rate for each month when the Federal Reserve Board does not publish an H.15 rate.Amended October 21, 2013.

Regulation 807 - Adopted Regulation 807 [Exemption from Registration for units with tenants receiving monthly assistance through the Section 8 Program or the Shelter Plus Care Program or equivalent rent subsidy program] which clarifies that a landlord must register a Section 8 tenancy with the Rent Board when the landlord raises the rent above the tenant’s payment standard. Regulation 807 also makes clear that a rental unit qualifies for the exemption listed in Berkeley Municipal Code Section 13.76.050.D when the rent is no higher than the tenant’s payment standard. Adopted July 15, 2013.

Regulation 503 - Amended Regulation 503 [Definition of Principal Residence] by adding sections (A) and (B) to clarify the definition of a “person” for the purposes of identifying which entities can claim principal residence in a unit. Regulation 503 now makes clear that “person” is limited to a “natural person” and that a landlord may not claim an exemption pursuant to Sections 5(f) or 5(g) of the Ordinance unless the landlord occupies a unit on the property as his/her principal residence at the time the landlord asserts or claims the exemption. Adopted June 17, 2013.

Regulation 884 - Amended Regulation 884(B) – Other Waiver Requests, by adding subsection (12), which adds compliance with the Soft Story Ordinance as a criterion for discretionary review of waiver requests. Adopted July 30, 2012.

Regulation 1282 - Adopted Regulation 1282 Individual Rent Adjustments for Units in Properties Where No Units Have Received a Vacancy Increase since December 31, 1998, to provide timely and fair adjustments of rents in properties where all of the units have tenancies that began before January 1, 1999. Adopted July 16, 2012.

Regulation 1234 - Added the 4th sentence in paragraph (A) and the word signed before “…in writing to the Board” in the 5th sentence of Section (A), and the word number after the word “…phone” in the 7th sentence in Section (A). Adopted September 20, 2010.

Regulation 883 - Revised (H) to add and all other balances due are paid within the 60 days and defined “landlord” for the purposes of this regulation, added (J) and references to it in (H) and (I), and made various other changes. Adopted December 13, 2010.

Regulation 884 - Clarified the Executive Director’s role in (A), eliminating service of a 3-day notice as triggering a discretionary waiver in (B)3, added (B)9-11, establishing a new schedule in (C), defined “landlord” for this regulation in (D), and made various other changes. Adopted December 13, 2010.

Regulation 702 - Amended Regulation 702 (D) – [Payment of Interest on Security Deposits] to provide a fixed method for determining the rate of interest to be paid on tenants’ security deposits upon tenants’ departure from their rental units. Adopted February 25, 2010.

Regulation 1266 - Amended Regulation 1266 (A) – [Self Labor] to update the hourly rate to compensate for labor performed by the landlord in the operation of a rental property. Adopted February 25, 2010.